Santa! Ho, ho, ho!

We took Avynlee to see Santa this year.  At first, we couldn't decide if we were going to bother, but it turns out, she loves Santa and all this Christmas.  She can even say "Santa" "ho, ho, ho" and "Baby Jesus" (which sounds more like "beebee cheeses".  Avynlee was so happy while we waited in line.  She kept squealing "Santa!" and trying to cut in line.  Once it was our turn, I set her down and said, "Look, it's Santa!"  She didn't buy it.  I guess he wasn't the real Santa.  :)  She tried to be brave but she clearly wasn't that interested in sitting on his lap...and he pretty much told me not to let her (weird Santa).  Hopefully next year we find a Santa more to her liking.

In other news, we took Avynlee in for her 15 month check up and some shots.  She was a little champ for her shots and only cried for a second.  Her stats are:

Weight:  24.14 pounds (79%)

Height:  33.07 inches (99%)

Head Circumference:  18.1 inches (53%) - this one is only .1 inches more than 3 months ago, so it may be inaccurate.

I guess her brief stint being in the 92nd percentile in height was a fluke.  Our not so little nugget is off the charts again.  The doctor said she looks and acts like a 2 year old.  Our super tall baby wears anything between 9 month and 18 month clothes.  It mainly depends on the length. Her hair is getting so long and she'll actually sit still long enough for me to do it most of the time.

She is super verbal and can also tell us what a cow, snake, kitty, dog, bird, bee, sheep, monkey, owl, car, and Santa says.

She recently got a new baby to play with.  It came with a toy bottle and she is the cutest little momma to that doll.  She cuddles it and feeds it and tries really hard to be soft with it.  It's very sweet.

We are loving this stage during this time of year.  Gifts and lights and trees are so exciting to her.  She loves our Christmas decorations and can crawl under the tree and flip the switch turning the lights on and off (super safe, right).  As expected, the ornaments on the lower third of our tree haven't lasted long.  It's very top heavy now.  Avynlee loves all our decorations and our village and says "Wow!" often.  It is so fun watching her enjoy and discover everything.  She also has developed a love for the Barney: Night Before Christmas on Netflix.  There is one particular part she finds to be especially funny and she laughs every time.  It's really cute.

We love this little girl and are so excited to continue showing her all the magic Christmas has to offer!

Thankful

This guy is the champ.  He sacrifices so much for our little family.  He put his dreams on hold so I could pursue mine...and has been incredibly patient with the many delays and restructuring of said dreams.  He loves the crap out of me and our little wonder nugget.  He is such a cute dad.  Avynlee thinks he is so funny and cool.  I do too.  Adam is silly, sarcastic, and smart.  He has made me a kinder and more tolerant person.  He's also really nice to look at! ;)

(I know this picture kinda looks like she's lost in the woods but I love it so much)  This little girl has completely changed my world.  My priorities are so different now and I am a big ol' wuss.  Avynlee has become my whole life and is my best little friend.  We really do almost everything together already.  I love her so much and am extremely grateful to be her momma.  I am also so thankful for the chance to get to be home with her as often as I am.  I had no idea how important being home with her would be to me.  It means the world to me that I usually get to be there for her through her day.  I love teaching her, cleaning up her messes, cuddling her, and seeing how much she learns and grows from day to day.  This sweet baby has been such an amazing blessing in my life.

 Look at those goons.  My siblings have become my best friends.  I love how close we have all become.  We have so much fun together and tend to get a bit crazy.  We are so similar yet have strikingly unique personalities.  We compliment each other nicely.  I am so grateful my parents managed to raise us four crazies and I am even more grateful we have become so close.

 The parents.  These two have saved my bacon on countless occasions.  Both my parents are extremely giving.  They are always offering to do things for me...little things that are totally unnecessary just because they love me and my little family.  I appreciate all they have done for me and am so grateful they are willing to put up with me!

Adam is extremely close to his family and I am so glad.  They have accepted me as one of their own and they love Avs so much.  They are also a big bunch of crazies when they are all together which is super fun.

I am also thankful for our amazing friends, our house, our reliable vehicles, and our religious beliefs.

First Taste of Snow

Family Photos

Carlye took our family photos and we LOVE them.  Avs got a little sick of it near the end (see her sad face...so stinking cute!) but was a little champ most of the time.  I'm glad I have such a talented friend and such a cute family!

Halloween

I still haven't gotten Av's birthday pictures.  Soon I hope.  Here's a belated Halloween though!  Avynlee LOVED Halloween this year.  We took her to get a square pumpkin and pumpkin shake a couple weeks before.  She loved them both.  She thought the little ghost flashlight was the greatest thing ever and quickly learned to turn it on and off by herself.  She also really loved wearing her costume around before and on Halloween.  We gutted and carved pumpkins.  She loved this too.  She would grab the guts in her chubby little hands and say "skishy".  We teamed up with some of AK's family and went to Gardner Village.  Avynlee petted all the animals in the petting zoo, had a hayride, and learned how fun trampolines can be in the hay maze.  We may have to get her one.  She really really loved playing and bouncing, running and falling.  It was adorable.  We also went to the annual Wilson Halloween party.

On Halloween, we got dressed up in our Neverland costumes.  Adam was Peter Pan, I was Tiger Lily, and Avs was Tinkerbell.  I made all our costumes.  I plan to make our costumes and keep them in a theme for as long as possible.  I already know what we'll be next year!

We went to Adam's work after lunch and Avynlee trick or treated up and down the cubicles.  It did not take long at all for her to catch on.  She really enjoyed it.  She got a little greedy and possessive of her newly acquired treats and she even remembered who had the suckers (the only treat she recognized) and kept going back to them for more.

After we left Adam's work, we went to Brighton High to visit my mom.  Av's trick or treated around to the ladies there and got some attention, which she loves.  Then we headed to my parents' house.  My mom makes chilli, clam chowder, and pumpkin pie every year.  After dinner we took Avynlee to some of the closer houses in the neighborhood.  My mom (who made her amazing Mary Poppins costume) and Natalie (dressed as a nurse) came with us.  I used to kind of judge the pile of adults who would accompany an infant trick or treating but now I'm a big hypocrite.  We loved seeing how excited she got.  It was so adorable.

After some Chipman fun, we headed to the Howards'.  We just missed Katie and Max (happens every time) but Lyv and Bree got there a bit after we did and we decided to do some more trick or treating.  This time we had Me, Adam, Avynlee, Mary Jo, Kim, Taylor, Bree, and Alyvia.  Two kids.  But we still went and we had fun.  Mary Jo, Kim, and Taylor only stuck around for 5 or 6 houses but Alyvia was determined to hit as many as possible so we joined them.  It was a really long day and we got way too much candy but Avynlee had so much fun.  We are so excited to do it all again next year!